How One Grilled Chicken Recipe Turned Into A Spice Empire

The sweet, smoky, spicy blend of dry spices turn an ordinary chicken into an extraordinary meal.

Elizabeth Karmel

Which Came First, The Chicken or the Spice?

For Spiceology, it was the Smoky Honey Habanero Chicken. In 2013, Pete Taylor was an executive chef at a local resort and referred to himself as a “spiceologist.” He created a chicken dish that was seasoned with a rub that he made using honey granules, brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, and habanero powder. It was so popular that his customers started to ask him for the recipe. He gladly gave it to them but, in 2013, it was difficult to find honey granules and habanero powder if you didn’t have access to foodservice vendors or manufacturing partners. That meant that the recipe wasn’t any use to his fans if they couldn’t buy the ingredients to make it at home.

Seeing an opportunity, Taylor made the spice blend and teamed up with local blogger Heather Scholten to sell the spice at farmers’ markets in the Spokane area.

“Smoky Honey Habanero is what kicked it all off. Since Pete was a chef, he sourced the highest quality spices for his blends and you could taste the difference,” said Darby McLean, CEO of Spiceology.

One spice blend led to another, and many others. Today, Spiceology’s “Periodic Table of Flavor™” features more than 300 ingredients that are ground fresh and shipped fresh.

The Smoky Honey Habanero spice blend was the beginning of Spiceology, and it is still in the top five best sellers today. I wanted to see first-hand what made this spice blend so delicious that it launched America’s fastest-growing spice company, according to Inc. 5000.

I used the spice blend to season a spatchcocked chicken that I grilled over a medium indirect heat until it was golden brown delicious (GBD) and formed a gorgeous burnished crust from the spices. Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint! The blend hits all the popular notes, sweet, smoky and spicy. The granulated honey and brown sugar help create an all-over sweet caramelized glaze on the chicken while the smoked paprika adds the smoky note, and added depth of flavor, and the habanero powder provides the spice and the heat.

The rub was so flavorful that I decided to make a quick dipping sauce for my chicken. I mixed a little of the spice blend, whole-grain mustard and mayo together in a glass jar so I could refrigerate any leftovers. It exploded with flavor and was terrific with the hot-off-the-grill chicken but even better the next day on the cold chicken.

As a grilling and barbecue expert, I know how important dried powders made from honey and Worcestershire sauce are to grilled, smoked and roasted foods, and especially for barbecue teams and enthusiasts.

When cooking meats with the goal of a crispy skin or a barbecued “bark,” it is essential to use a dry rub, not a wet one–and that means no wet ingredients. To be able to access dehydrated ingredient powders that both add a punchy flavor and create a crust or shiny glaze is a game changer. The crust/glaze occurs as the sweet ingredients in the spice rub mix with the natural juices of the food as it cooks, caramelizing as the food reaches doneness.

When you use a high-quality spice blend like the Smoky Honey Habanero, it streamlines the prep process. When you prepare your chicken for the grill, you only need three ingredients, a jar of the spice, olive oil and the chicken. The spice blend saves time, saves money—think about the cost of buying all the individual ingredients—and gives you a consistent dish each time. This is important to both the home cook and a restaurant chef. And, those are the same reasons that half of the company’s sales come from individual chefs and high-end fast casual restaurants like Shack Shack.

As a home cook, I appreciated the speed of the recipe, but what I really appreciated was how the spice rub cooked onto the chicken and created a stunning high-flavor, low-labor crust on my grilled chicken.

Smoky Honey Habanero Spatchcocked Chicken

Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium Heat

Serves 4

Chicken:

1 3 ½ to 4 pound fryer chicken, preferably Amish or organic

Olive oil

1-2 tablespoons Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero spice rub or favorite spice rub

Optional Dipping Sauce:

½ cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero spice rub or favorite spice rub

2 teaspoons Whole Grain mustard, such as Maille

1. Remove chicken from packaging and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Using poultry or kitchen shears cut along each side of the back bone and remove it.
3. Turn chicken breast-side up. Open the two sides of the chicken as if you were opening a book, and lay it flat. Break the breast bone by firmly applying pressure and pressing down—you may break a few rib bones in the process.
4. Tuck the wing tip under the upper wing and place on a tray.
5. When ready to cook, preheat the grill with all burners on high, make sure the cooking grates are clean and reduce the heat to indirect.
6. Brush chicken lightly all over with oil.
7. Sprinkle both sides with the rub.
8. Place chicken skin-side up in the center of the grill. Grill 45-50 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 175° F in the thickest part of the thigh and the juices run clear.
9. Meanwhile, if using optional dipping sauce, stir mayo, spices and mustard together until well mixed and transfer to a bowl or a jar.
10. Remove chicken from grill and let rest 10 minutes.
11. Cut chicken into pieces and serve immediately.

Classic BBQ Rub

NOTE: If you don’t have the Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero spice rub, you can make this all-purpose rub and use it for the chicken. This rub recipe is NOT at all similar to the Smoky Honey Habanero spice blend, but it will make a flavorful grilled chicken. If making the dipping sauce, double this recipe.

1 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine paprika, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, and garlic powder in a bowl and mix well.

Will make about 1 ½ tablespoons, enough for one chicken.